If you need help relating to fuel poverty
More and more households are facing the harsh reality of life in fuel poverty.
While we fight for more government support and changes to end fuel poverty, there is help available – please don’t suffer in silence.
If you are struggling to pay your bills, contact your energy supplier. They must take into account your circumstances and help you. It is vital that you inform your supplier if anyone vulnerable lives in your home (for example, on the basis of age, health, disability, severe financial insecurity or an inability to safeguard their personal welfare or the personal welfare of other members of the household).
Make sure you understand what you may be entitled to through the Government’s cost of living payments scheme.
Ministers are urging consumers to stay alert of potential scams relating to energy bills support schemes and report these to the relevant authorities where they are suspected.
The Good Law Project has produced a series of advice pages, including one on fuel poverty to help you ensure you get the support you are entitled to.
Child Poverty Action Group have two useful guides available on your rights to energy and fuel and a handbook on debt advice.
Citizens Advice can also help you. It’s worth noting that if you have a Warm Home Discount with one supplier, a new supplier must honour it. If you are struggling to get your new supplier to honour the discount, you could try contacting Citizens Advice directly for help.
Citizens Advice will also be able to help you access any locally available support and advice which may be provided by your local authority.
For older customers, Age UK also provide advice online and has a phone number you can call for help: 0800 678 1602.
For information about other government programmes visit: https://www.gov.uk/
For advice on energy efficiency, visit the Energy Saving Trust (including this page on energy saving measures you can take) or the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
If your energy firm will not help, then Ofgem or the Energy Ombudsman can help sort out disagreements between gas and electricity companies and their domestic and small business customers.
Further resources
If you want to find out more about the End Fuel Poverty Coalition campaign activity visit our news section, or check out some of the historic correspondence, reports and documents.